Method for producing textured substrates for thin-film photovoltaic cells

ABSTRACT

The invention pertains to the production of ceramic substrates used in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells used for directly converting solar energy to electrical energy. Elongated ribbon-like sheets of substrate precursor containing a mixture of ceramic particulates, a binder, and a plasticizer are formed and then while green provided with a mechanically textured surface region used for supporting the thin film semiconductor of the photovoltaic cell when the sheets of the substrate precursor are subsequently cut into substrate-sized shapes and then sintered. The textured surface pattern on the substrate provides enhanced light trapping and collection for substantially increasing the solar energy conversion efficiency of thin-film photovoltaic cells.

This invention was made with the support of the United States Governmentunder contract No. DE-AC05-84OR21 400 awarded by the U.S. Department ofEnergy. The United States Government has certain rights in thisinvention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the production of substratesused in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells wherein a thinfilm of solar energy converting semiconducting material is supported onthe substrate, and more particularly to the production of suchsubstrates during which the substrates are provided with surfacetexturing for promoting light capturing and reflecting properties of thesubstrates.

Increasing concerns for the environment and the substantial reliance onexhaustible energy resources for supplying the energy needs of the worldhave been largely responsible for the increased efforts in developingalternative energy sources. For example, considerable research is beingconducted in developing systems for converting solar energy into usefulenergy forms such as electricity. Notably, the conversion of solarenergy directly to electrical energy in an environmentally nonpollutingmanner has been achieved through the use of photovoltaics or solarcells.

Generally, the production of electrical energy in photovoltaic cells isprovided by utilizing amorphous or crystalline semiconducting materialswhich possess solid state characteristics capable of efficientlyconverting solar energy or photons into electrical energy. Suchsemiconducting materials include silicon doped with suitable impuritiessuch as aluminum, copper, chromium, phosphorous and boron to provideN-type and/or P-type junctions and to a lesser extent because ofrelative cost, semiconducting materials such as cadmium sulfide, cadmiumtelluride, amorphous silicon-hydrogen, germanium, and gallium arsenide.Of the types of photovoltaic cells as presently known, the so-calledthin-film photovoltaic cells which utilize a relatively thin layer orfilm of a suitable semiconducting material of a thickness less thanabout 200 microns deposited on a supporting substrate are presentlygenerating the most interest. It has been observed that availablethin-film photovoltaic cells already possess solar energy conversionefficiencies at least as great as the well known and relativelyexpensive solar cells formed of a single crystal and that developmentsin thin-film photovoltaic technology are expected to provide evengreater improvements in cost efficiency and solar energy conversionefficiency.

In the fabrication of thin-film photovoltaic cells, the solar energyconverting semiconducting material is deposited onto a surface region ofa substrate by a suitable deposition technique such as chemical vapordeposition as a film with a thickness in the range of about 50 to 200micrometers. The selection of the substrate material and providing thesubstrate with desirable physical properties are of significantimportance in the manufacture of efficient thin-film photovoltaic cellsat economically acceptable costs. The substrate is required to be madeof a material which forms a non-rectifying contact of relatively lowelectrical resistance with the deposited film of semiconductingmaterial. The substrate is also required to provide an adequatestructural support for the film to maintain the integrity thereof andprovide a tenacious physical bond with the deposited film. Further, thesubstrate must possess a coefficient of thermal expansion substantiallycorresponding to that of the deposited film in order to minimizedeleterious stresses which may occur therebetween during exposure of thethin-film photovoltaic cell to temperature variations.

Satisfactory substrates for thin-film photovoltaic cell applicationshave been formed of sintered ceramic materials such as alumina, silica,silicon carbide, mullite, cordierite, zirconia or mixtures thereof andpossess a coefficient of thermal expansion sufficiently close to that ofthe deposited thin films of the semiconducting materials so as toprovide a structural support for the thin films when the thin-filmphotovoltaic cells are subjected to a wide range of temperatures. Also,these ceramic materials provide an adequate physical bond with thedeposited thin film and possess electrical properties required of thesubstrate. The use of a substrate formed of relatively inexpensivematerials is an important consideration from the standpoint of costefficiency in the use of photovoltaic cells as a viable alternativeenergy source.

When generating electricity with thin-film photovoltaic cells, asubstantial percentage of the photons pass through the thin film withoutbeing utilized in the electrical energy producing process occurringwithin the film. Thus, in order to increase the solar conversionefficiency of thin-film photovoltaic cells, a mechanism must be providedfor increasing light trapping within the cells so that photons passingthrough the thin film can be collected and reflected back into the thinfilm for use in the energy conversion process. To this end, it has beenfound that the enhancement of the light trapping and collecting of thethin-film photovoltaics can be successfully provided by using thin filmdielectric reflectors or by providing the surface of the substratesupporting the thin film with light reflecting properties.

Previous efforts utilized in providing the substrate with lightreflecting properties included forming the substrate in such a manner asto have a roughened film supporting surface to collect and reflect thephotons passing through the thin film back into the film. This"texturizing" of the substrate has been provided by forming thesubstrate from a sintered blend of ceramic particulates provided by arelatively large size fraction of particulates and a relatively smallsize fraction of particulates. However, it was found that the formationof the substrate in such a manner had a considerable impact on thestructural integrity of the substrate since such substrates wererelatively friable and thus lacked the desired structural strengthneeded for supporting the thin film of semiconducting material,especially when employed in relatively thin cross sections such asrequired for maintaining a cost efficient production of thin-filmphotovoltaic cells. Also, some texturing of the substrate surface hasbeen achieved by mechanically roughening the surface of the sinteredceramic materials in order to increase the light-trapping properties ofthe substrate. This mechanical roughening of a surface on sinteredceramic substrates is relatively expensive, substantiallynonreproducible and also considerably increases the cost of thesubstrates employed in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal aim or objective of the present inventionto produce in a cost efficient manner surface-textured substrates ofsintered ceramic particulates for structurally supporting thin films ofsemiconductors employed in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaiccells whereby the surface texturing substantially enhances thelight-trapping properties of the substrate to significantly increase thesolar energy conversion efficiency of the thin-film photovoltaic cells.Generally, in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells, a film ofsemiconductor material is deposited on a surface region of a substrateformed of sintered particulates of a ceramic material having relativelylow resistance and non-rectifying properties. The method of the presentinvention is directed to the production of such substrates in apreselected configuration with the surface region of the substratesupporting the film of semiconductor material being provided with alight-reflecting textured pattern at a time prior to the sintering ofthe ceramic particulates. This method comprises the steps of forming amixture including the ceramic particulates; a relatively volatile binderand a relatively volatile plasticizer; mechanically forming the mixtureinto an elongated ribbon or sheet means having opposite first and secondplanar surfaces; and then contacting the first planar surface of thesheet means with a patterned surface of a mechanical means for embeddingthe pattern of the patterned surface in the first planar surface of thesheet means to provide the green, i.e., non-sintered, substrate with atextured surface region. The binder and the plasticizer are respectivelyemployed in the substrate forming mixture in a concentration adequatefor maintaining the ceramic particulates together in the shape of themechanically formed sheet means and in a concentration adequate forproviding the mechanically formed sheet means with plastic propertiesfor receiving and maintaining the patterned surface embedded therein.

The patterned surface on the mechanical means is an embossed patternselected to sufficiently provide the first planar surface of the sheetmeans with sufficient surface disruption or texturing for enabling thepatterned surface of the substrate to reflect light therefrom into thethin film of the semiconductor material supported thereon. This embossedpattern on the mechanical means is preferably in the form of parallelgrooves, individual sets of parallel grooves disposed at angles to oneanother or individual protuberances for forming a stippled pattern onthe first planar surface region.

Another object of the present invention is to form such elongated sheetof ceramic material by using a tape casting process or a roll compactionprocess. When using the tape-casting process a volatile solvent for thebinder and/or the plasticizer is added to the sheet forming mixture in aconcentration adequate to render the mixture of a sufficient liquid-likeviscosity for casting the mixture into the desired sheet form. Bindersand plasticizers are also incorporated in the mixture used for formingthe sheet by the roll compaction process to provide the mixture with anadequate green strength, flexibility, and density.

Another object of the present invention is to provide for the formationof the planar sheet of the green substrate and the displacement of thegreen substrate past the patterned surface of the mechanical means in acontinuous manner so as to provide a textured green substrate of a sizeadequate to provide a plurality of sintered substrates usable in themanufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells.

A further object of the present invention is to provide for suchtexturing of the planar sheet means by employing roller means having anembossed surface for embedding the pattern of the embossed surface inthe surface of the sheet means as it is contacted by the roller means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a take-up reelor spool for receiving and storing the surface-textured green substrateprior to the subsequent sizing thereof into selected substrateconfigurations followed by the sintering of the particulate material inthe substrate to provide relatively rigid substrates in generally waferform that incorporate the textured surface provided by the texturing ofthe green substrate.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide adiffusion barrier on the textured surface of the sintered substrate forinhibiting diffusion of the semiconducting material forming the filminto the substrate or the contamination of the film by the substratematerial.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide asurface-textured substrate precursor and at least one surface-texturedsubstrate therefrom for thin-film photovoltaic applications as producedby the method of the present invention.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become obviousupon an understanding of the illustrative method about to be describedor will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a tape casting assembly usedfor tape casting a planar ribbon or sheet of the substrate material andmodified by including a roller arrangement having an embossed surfacefor texturing a surface region of the planar sheet for enhancing thelight trapping and light collecting properties of substrates preparedtherefrom and used in thin-film photovoltaic cells;

FIG. 2 is a schematic elevational view of an alternative embodiment ofan assembly utilized for forming a planar ribbon or sheet of thesubstrate precursor by roll compaction and includes a roller assemblyhaving a roller with an embossed surface for providing a texturedsurface on a surface region of the sheet for enhancing the lighttrapping and collecting properties of substrates prepared therefrom andused in thin-film photovoltaic cells;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a plurality of sintered substratewafers prepared from the substrate precursors produced by the method ofthe present invention and usable in the fabrication of thin-filmphotovoltaic cells with each of these wafers being provided with afilm-supporting textured surface of a selected pattern for providing thelight trapping and light collecting properties of the substrates inthin-film photovoltaic cells; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational, sectional view generally illustrating athin-film photovoltaic cell in which a thin film of semiconductingmaterial is deposited on a substrate having a surface textured inaccordance with the present invention and provided with the diffusionbarrier positioned between the thin film and the textured surface.

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been chosen for the purposeof illustration and description. The preferred embodiments illustratedare not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to theprecise forms shown. The preferred embodiments are chosen and describedin order to best explain the principles of the invention and theirapplication and practical use to thereby enable others skilled in theart to best utilize the invention in various embodiments andmodifications as are best adapted to the particular use contemplated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to the production of surface-texturedsubstrates to be utilized in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaiccells useful for directly converting solar energy into electricalenergy. As briefly described above, thin-film photovoltaic cellsgenerally comprise a solar energy converting film of a semiconductingmaterial of any suitable type such as described above that has beendeposited on a supporting substrate by a suitable film forming processsuch as chemical vapor deposition or the like to a thickness in therange of about 50 to 200 micrometers. Preferably, the substrate isprovided by a sized wafer of sintered ceramic material whichstructurally supports the thin film and is characterized by relativelylow electrical resistance and the capability of providing anon-rectifying contact with the thin film of semiconducting material.Also, the wafer of ceramic material is required to posses a coefficientof thermal expansion substantially corresponding to that of the film ofthe selected semiconducting material. For providing such substratesceramic materials such as silica, silicon carbide, alumina, cordierite,mullite, or mixtures thereof are considered to be suitable candidatesince these ceramic materials possess the physical properties desired ofthe substrate and are also relatively inexpensive as compared to otherceramic materials which may be used as the substrates in thin-filmphotovoltaic cells. Thus, while the present invention preferablyutilizes such relatively inexpensive ceramic materials for the formationof the substrates, it is to be understood that the present invention isnot limited to the formation of the substrates from these ceramicmaterials since the method of this invention can be used for producingsubstrates from any suitable sinterable ceramic material.

Substrates of the selected ceramic material in wafer form or any othersuitable configuration can be readily provided by sintering togetherparticulates of the selected ceramic material in a particle size rangeof about 0 to 10 micrometers at a temperature in a range of about 1000°to 1500° C.

In accordance with the present invention, elongated planar ribbons orsheets of the selected particulate ceramic material are produced andprovided with a textured surface suitable for reflecting light back intothe thin film. These planar sheets or substrate precursors are cut intoa selected substrate form, such as that of a wafer, of a selected sizeand then sintered to provide surface-textured substrates useful in themanufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells in a highly cost efficientand reproducible manner. Elongated flexible and plastic sheets of thetextured substrate in green or precursor form, i.e., non-sintered, areprepared from a mixture of ceramic particulates, a suitable organicbinder for holding the ceramic particulates together in the surfacetextured sheet form until the sintering operation and a suitableplasticizer for providing the green sheets with the desired flexible andplastic properties for receiving and retaining a pattern embedded in asurface region thereof. This mixture plus a relatively volatile solventfor the binder and/or the plasticizer can be readily shaped into theplanar sheet form by using a conventional tape-casting assembly that hasbeen modified to incorporate a substrate surface texturing mechanism asillustrated in FIG. 1.

Alternatively, the mixture, which may also include relatively little orno solvent, can be shaped in the planar sheet form by employing a rollcompaction assembly which includes sheet forming rollers and which isfitted with a surface texturing mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tape-casting assembly 10 generally comprises ametal support platform 12 having a horizontal section 14 and an angledor slanted section 16. A reservoir 18 is supported on the angled section16 of the platform 12 and is shown containing a quantity of liquid slip19 formed of a mixture of the ceramic particulates, the organic binder,the organic plasticizer, and a suitable quantity of a solvent for thebinder and/or the plasticizer for providing the mixture with liquid-likeproperties. Suitable binders, plasticizers, and solvents for thistape-casting and surface-texturing process are set forth below. A spool20 containing a supply of a suitable plastic film 22 such aspolyethylene terephthalate resin sold under the trademark "MYLAR" of athickness in the range of about 0.0001 to 0.005 inch is supported at thedistal or free end of the angled section 16 for supplying the film usedin the tape casting operation. This film 22 is extended over the uppersurface of the platform 12 through the base of the reservoir 18 to atake-up reel or spool 24 supported at the end of the horizontal section14.

In the tape-casting operation a selected portion of the liquid slip 19used for forming the substrate precursor is removed from the reservoir18 by the moving film 22 and passed under a vertically movable doctorblade 26 which is used to provide cast slip with the desired thicknessin the form of an elongated planar ribbon or sheet 28 as the film 22 iscontinually displaced along the platform 12 by the action of the take-upspool 24. As the cast sheet 28 is displaced over the length of thehorizontal section 14 of the platform the solvent in the mixturevolatilizes so that the mixture forming the casting becomes increasinglymore viscus until it reaches an essentially "solid" state near thetake-up spool 24. In this solid state the casting of the planar sheet 28still contains the less volatile binder and plasticizer so as to possessproperties which render it flexible and sufficiently plastic to receiveand retain surface texturing patterns provided by a surface-texturingroll 30 placed near and over an end portion of the horizontal section 14of the platform 12. This surface-texturing roll 30 is provided with anembossed surface 32 which bears against the upper surface of the greensubstrate sheet 28 as it passes under the roll 30 onto the take-up spool24 so that the pattern of the embossed surface 32 is embedded into theupper surface of the sheet 28 to provide the latter with a texturedsurface 34. The texturing roll 30 preferably imposes pressure loading ofabout 5,000 to 30,000 psi on the surface of the sheet 28 to effect theformation of the textured surface 34.

The green substrate sheet 28 containing the textured surface 34 isstored on the take-up spool 24 until such time it is desired to formsubstrate shapes or forms from the sheet 28. To this end, the sheet 28is removed from the spool 24 and cut into forms desired of thesubstrate. These substrate forms are then subjected to a sinteringoperation at a selected temperature in the aforementioned temperaturerange. Such heating of the substrate shapes is adequate for volatilizingthe binder and the plasticizer and adequate for providing a finishedsubstrate of the sintered ceramic particulates with the desired texturedsurface on the substrate. However, if desired the substrate forms may beinitially heated to a temperature lower than the ceramic particulatesintering temperature in flowing gas or vacuum for removing the volatilebinder and plasticizer from the substrate forms.

The liquid slip used for forming the sheet 28 defining the substrateprecursor contains about 70 to 90 wt % of ceramic particulates in theaforementioned particle size range; about 5 to 10 wt % of an organicbinder such as acrylic resin, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral,ethyl cellulose, or the like, and combinations thereof; about 1 to 5 wt% of an organic plasticizer such as polyethylene glycol, octylphthalate, or the like, and combinations thereof; and a volatile solventfor the binder and/or the plasticizer such as hexane, an alcohol such asethanol, a ketone, or combinations thereof toluene, trichloroethylene,or ethanol. The concentration of the solvent in the mixture can beselectively varied so as to render the mixture sufficiently liquid sothat it is capable of readily flowing from the reservoir 18 onto themoving film 22 for forming the planar sheet 28 of the substrateprecursor. Normally about 10 to 30 wt % of the solvent is adequate toprovide the slip with the desired liquid properties. Further, if desireda dispersant such as menhaden oil, glycerol trioleate, or other organicfatty acids may be used in the mixture for assuring uniform distributionof the ceramic particulates throughout the liquid slip.

The tape casting assembly 10 as modified in accordance with the presentinvention is suitable for providing sheets of surface-textured substrateprecursors of any suitable dimensions such as sheets having widths inthe range of about 1 to 12 inches, a thickness in the range of about0.005 to 0.060 inch, and of a length of about 0.5 inch to about 36inches which is sufficient to provide at least one and preferably asubstantial plurality of substrate wafers. Depending upon the size ofthe take-up rolls, planar sheets of the substrate precursor may beprepared in lengths extending up to several feet.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternate embodiment of an assembly for formingthe planar sheets of the substrate precursor. In this embodiment, asubstantially dry, flowable powder mixture used for forming the greensubstrate sheets is provided by about 80 to 90 wt % ceramic particulatesof the desired particle size, about 10 to 20 wt % of the binder, andabout 0 to 5 wt % of the plasticizer. The binder and plasticizer aredescribed above. The mixture 36 is shown contained in a vessel orhousing 38 provided with a rectangular slot 40, preferably at the basethereof, through which a selected quantity of the mixture 36 is gravityfed from the vessel 38 and compacted by the rolls 42 and 44 to form acontinuous sheet 46. The mixture 36 as it is discharged from the vessel38 is passed between rolls 42 and 44 which compact the mixture 36 intothe sheet 46 by applying a pressure loading of about 10,000 to 30,000psi on the powder mixture 36 to densify the mixture and thereby form agreen substrate sheet 46 which has the desired flexibility and thestructural integrity required of the sheet 46 so that it may be taken upon a take-up spool 50 supported by the sheet forming assembly at asuitable location such as shown vertically spaced from and underlyingthe rollers 42 and 44. After the sheet 46 is formed by the rolls 42 and44, the flexible and plastic sheet 46 is passed between rollers 52 and54 for providing the desired textured pattern 56 on a surface region ofthe substrate precursor or sheet 46. In order to provide this texturedpattern 56 on the sheet 46, the roll 52 is shown provided with atextured or embossed surface 58 which contacts the surface of theplastic, roll-formed sheet 46 to embed the pattern of the embossedsurface 58 into the surface of the sheet 46 and thereby provide thesheet 46 with the textured surface pattern 56 prior to its beingreceived on the take-up spool 50.

After fabricating an elongated sheet 46 of green substrate by employingthe assembly of FIG. 2, selected lengths of the sheet 46 may be removedfrom the take-up spool 50 and cut into wafers or other substrate formdesired for the substrates used in thin-film photovoltaic cells. Thiscutting of the green sheet 46 as well as the green sheet 28 describedabove is achieved in a relatively easy manner since the cutting of thesheets 46 or 28 into substrate forms is achieved at a time prior to thesintering operation. Upon the formation of the green substrate wafers,they are subjected to the sintering operation as generally describedabove for completing the formation of the substrate.

In FIG. 3 several examples of sintered ceramic substrates in wafer formwith surface texturing patterns are illustrated to show the flexibilityof the process of the present invention for providing any desiredsurface texturing pattern on the substrates and thereby permitting thesubstrates to be readily tailored to provide the type and the extent oflight trapping and light collection desired of the substrates. Suchtailoring can be used for significantly increasing the solar energyconversion efficiency of thin-film photovoltaic cells employed underdifferent environmental conditions. For example, in FIG. 3 the substrate60 is shown provided with elongated, parallel grooves 62; the substrate64 is shown provided with two sets of elongated, parallel grooves 66 and68 disposed at 90° to one another for providing a textured surface of agenerally square or rectangular pattern; the substrate 70 is shownprovided with two sets of elongated, parallel grooves 72 and 74 disposedat angles to one another for forming a generally diamond-shaped textureon the surface of the substrate 70; and the substrate 76 is shown with astipple-like texture 78 generally corresponding to that of coarsesandpaper. The surface texturing patterns provided by the presentinvention preferably provides surface features on the substrate definedby indentations or peaks disposed or inclined at angles of about 30° to60° to the planar surface of the substrate and of a depth or height inthe range of about 50 to 100 micrometers. By employing such angledsurface patterns, light is reflected from the substrate surface backinto the thin film of semiconductor material for significantlyincreasing the solar energy conversion efficiency of thin-filmphotovoltaic cells using film-supporting substrates prepared inaccordance with the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 4, a thin-film photovoltaic cell is generallyillustrated at 80 with the thin film 82 of a desired semiconductingmaterial deposited on a substrate 84 provided with surface texturingdefined by angled parallel grooves 86. As shown the grooves 86 penetratethe planar surface of the substrate 84 at angles of about 45° thereto soas to internally reflect the photons generally shown at 88 that havepassed through the thin film 82 back into the film 82 for efficientlyutilizing the available light energy in the solar energy conversionprocess by effectively increasing the path length within the thin film82 of semiconducting material. Also, as shown in FIG. 4 a diffusionbarrier 90 is deposited on the textured surface of the substrate 84 toinhibit diffusion of the thin film material into the surface of thesubstrate 84 during the formation of the film 82 or the contamination ofthe thin film 82 by material in the substrate 84. This diffusion barrier90 may be formed of any suitable inert material capable of providing adiffusion barrier such as titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, hafniumnitride, zirconium nitride, or other refractory metal carbides,nitrides, or borides, or mixtures thereof. The diffusion barrier 90 maybe of any suitable thickness which is sufficient to prevent theaforementioned diffusion and film contamination problems. Diffusionbarriers of a thickness in the range of about 30 to 200 micrometers whenformed of the above materials provide a suitable diffusion barrier. Thediffusion barrier 90 may be readily applied to the surface of thesintered substrate 84 by using any suitable deposition process such aschemical vapor deposition, rf magnetron sputtering, evaporation, or thelike.

The particular material selected for forming the diffusion barrier 90can provide additional benefits. For example, one of the preferredmaterials for forming the diffusion barrier 90 is titanium nitride whichhas relatively high optical reflectivity for enhancing the lighttrapping by the mechanism shown in FIG. 4. Several of the preferredmaterials for forming the diffusion barrier 90 have sufficientelectrical conductivity to serve as the rear electrodes in thephotovoltaic cell so as to simplify cell fabrication andinterconnections.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a cost efficientprocess for the production of surface-textured ceramic substratessuitable for use in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells. Thesurface textured substrates provided by practicing the present inventionsignificantly enhance light trapping and light collection and render themanufacture and the use of photovoltaic cells more economically feasiblethan achievable by employing previously utilized surface-textured orsmooth substrates in such applications.

What is claimed is:
 1. The method for producing a thin-film photovoltaiccell comprising a film of semiconductor material supported on a surfaceregion of a substrate formed of sintered particulates of a ceramicmaterial having non-rectifying properties with the substrate being in apreselected configuration and with the surface region of the substratesupporting the film of semiconductor material being provided with alight-reflecting texture prior to the sintering of the ceramicparticulates, said method comprising the steps of providing a substratefor supporting a film of semiconductor material by forming a mixtureincluding ceramic particulates, a relatively volatile binder and arelatively volatile plasticizer, mechanically forming the mixture intosheet means having opposite first and second planar surface, contactingthe first planar surface of the sheet means with a patterned surface ofa mechanical means for embedding the pattern of the patterned surface inthe first planar surface of the sheet means, said binder being in themixture in a concentration adequate for maintaining the ceramicparticulates together in the form of the mechanically formed sheet meansand said plasticizer being in the mixture in a concentration adequatefor providing the mechanically configured sheet means with sufficientplasticity to receive and retain the pattern embedded in the firstplanar surface, sizing at least a portion of the sheet means into aconfiguration desired of the substrate, heating the configuration to atemperature adequate to first volatilize the binder and the plasticizerand then adequate to sinter together the ceramic particulates forproviding the substrate, and thereafter depositing a film ofsemiconductor material onto the patterned surface of the first planarsurface of the substrate.
 2. The method for producing a thin-filmphotovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the patterned surfaceon said mechanical means is an embossed pattern selected to provide thefirst planar surface of the sheet means with sufficient surfacedisruption for enabling the surface pattern to reflect light therefrominto the thin film of semiconductor material supported on the patternedsurface of the substrate.
 3. The method for producing a thin-filmphotovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 2, wherein the embossed pattern onsaid mechanical means is in the form of parallel grooves, individualsets of parallel grooves on the surface of the mechanical means with thesets of parallel grooves disposed at angles to one another, orindividual protuberances for forming a stipple pattern on the firstplanar surface.
 4. The method for producing a thin-film photovoltaiccell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the particulate ceramic material issilica, silicon carbide, mullite, alumina, cordierite, zirconia, ormixtures thereof, and wherein the particulates of the ceramic materialare in a particle size range less than about 10 micrometers.
 5. Themethod for producing a thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim1, including the additional step of providing the textured surfaceregion of the substrate with a layer of a material substantiallyimpervious to and inert with the semiconductor material.
 6. The methodfor producing a for thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 5,wherein said layer is formed of a refractory metal nitride, carbide, orboride, or mixtures thereof, and wherein said layer is of a thickness inthe range of about 30 to 200 micrometers.
 7. The method for producing athin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step ofmechanically forming the mixture into said sheet means is provided bypassing the mixture into a contacting relationship with shaping meanshaving surface regions thereon adapted to engage and form the mixtureinto the configuration of the sheet means.
 8. The method for producing athin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 7, wherein saidconfiguration desired of the substrate is in the form of an elongatedribbon, and including the additional step of cutting the elongatedribbon subsequent to the surface texturing step into a plurality ofplanar shapes desired of a corresponding plurality of substrates.
 9. Themethod for producing a thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim8, wherein the elongated ribbon is mechanically formed of a widthadequate to provide the substrate with a width in the range of about 0.5inch to about 12 inches, a thickness adequate to provide the substratewith a thickness in the range of about 0.005 to 0.060 inch, and of alength adequate to provide the plurality of the substrate shapes each ofa length in the range of about 0.5 inch to about 36 inches.
 10. Themethod for producing a thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim7, wherein the binder is a butyral, acrylic, or cellulose polymer, orcombinations thereof, and is in the mixture in a concentration of about5 to 20 wt % of the mixture and adequate to sufficiently bond togetherceramic particulates and maintain the mixture in the mechanicallyconfigured form, wherein the plasticizer is polyethylene glycol, octylphthalate, or combinations thereof, an is in the mixture in aconcentration of about 1 to 5 wt % of the mixture and adequate toprovide the mixture and the mechanically configured form with saidplasticity, and wherein the particulate ceramic material is mullite,alumina, cordierite, zirconia, silica or mixtures thereof in particlesize range less than about 10 micrometers.
 11. The method for producinga thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 7, including the stepsof passing selected portions of the mixture from a containment vessel ina substantially continuous manner and contacting the selected portionsof the mixture with the shaping means for providing the sheet means withthe form of an elongated ribbon of substantially uniform width andthickness.
 12. The method for producing a thin-film photovoltaic cell asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the mixture is a substantially dry powdermixture, wherein the mixture is passed from the containment vessel intothe shaping means, wherein the shaping means comprises roller meansdisposed to receive the mixture flowing from the containment vessel forforming the mixture into the elongated ribbon, and wherein themechanical means with the patterned surface comprises roller meansadapted to substantially continuously receive the elongated ribbon andembed the pattern of the patterned surface in the first planar surfaceof the elongated ribbon.
 13. The method for producing a thin-filmphotovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mixture furtherincludes a volatile solvent for at least one of the binder and theplasticizer for providing the mixture with substantially liquidproperties, wherein the mixture is formed into the shape of theelongated ribbon by tape-casting the mixture as it is passed from thecontainment vessel, and wherein the mechanical means with the patternedsurface comprises roller means adapted to substantially continuouslyreceive the elongated ribbon upon volatilization of the volatile solventand embed the pattern of the patterned surface in the first planarsurface of the elongated ribbon.
 14. The method for producing athin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 13, wherein the solventis hexane, alcohol, ketone, or combinations thereof, and wherein themixture contains about 10 to 30 wt % of the solvent.
 15. The method forproducing a thin-film photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 11,including the additional step of collecting the elongated ribbon onspool means after providing the patterned surface region on theelongated ribbon.
 16. The method for producing a thin-film photovoltaiccell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the film of semiconductor materialis of a thickness in the range of about 50 to 200 micrometers, andwherein the film of semiconductor material comprises silicon.